The Beijing Sino-French International Fashion Institute, the first of its kind in the country, will teach the girls how to strut their stuff.

The institute is the first modeling school opened jointly by China and France. Thirty girls between the ages of 18 and 24 from across China will be chosen as the first students. The students will receive professional training by faculty of the French Fashion Institute. After three years of study, they will become the first group of Chinese models with international model certificates.

About 100,000 models are needed for activities in China every year, but most have received little training. The establishment of the institute is an attempt to raise the standard of Chinese models in a short period, and to help China's model industry enter the mainstream world fashion circle.

(CCTV.com March 19, 2004)